Wartime Plane crashes in the Potton area

In and around Potton, Bedfordshire, during World War Two, there were a number of plane crashes, primarily involving flights from Tempsford and occasionally further afield. In most cases, there is only scanty information about the events and the crews, but the Potton Liberator event is well documented. Click on each link in the left-hand navigation pane, or on an image of the aeroplane, for more information about it.

You should also note that a number of flights departing from RAF Tempsford, usually on Special Duties, failed to return, mostly crashing over the continent or the North Sea. I have made a single page with details about these losses, and the various squadrons that operated out of Tempsford on Special Duties.

Except for the Lysander, all the images below, and on the linked pages, are taken from the various Wikipedia pages, and all are believed to be in the public domain. They are all generic, and are NOT images of the actual aeroplanes involved in the incident. Refer to the linked Lysander page for copyright details of that image. The Mustang image on this page is also Wikipedia, but the page itself uses an image of the actual aircraft involved in the incident described. Potton History Society have an image of the LK236 Stirling and its crew that they have given me permission to include on that page.

If any visitor to this site would like to contact me about it, or any of the subjects on it, please do so. I would appreciate any feedback you have, good or bad. I know I can always improve the site, and any help in doing so would be gratefully received. Even the mildest of comments is good to get.

In particular, there is some doubt as to wether it was Halifax LK743 or Mosquito HX972 which crashed into some cottages and killed a civilian on the ground. If you have any data which might help to resolve this issue, please tell me about it using the link above, or the one below.

Please note that the data on this and other pages of this section of my web-site have been compiled by me from many sources, and are, as I believe, as accurate as the original information is. It is my intention to record these events for posterity, and if you think I have made an error, please contact me and tell me what you think is more accurate - I will check and if I agree, I will put the matter right immediately. If any of the crew family members have anything they wish to record, or that they wish removed, again, please use the contact form link to let me know, and I will put right whatever is the issue, or include anything they do not mind sharing. I have very few pictures of the crews that perished around my home town of Potton, again, if a family member would prefer me to remove the few I have, I will do so immediately. But any image they are willing to share would be gratefully received.